SI-NING-FU TO LIANG-CHOW-FU 1213 
On December 6th we journeyed from the village of 
Shwang-nyu-po to Ping-fan by an easy bridle-path, over 
yet another pass. It was however a killing road for 
vehicles, being both steep and narrow, and so deeply 
excavated, that it was impossible for two carts to pass 
in the contracted passages. Hence some of the drivers 
were accustomed to hurry on ahead, uttering loud long- 
drawn shouts, and in that way kept the road clear till 
they reached a convenient place to pass. The Ping- 
fan-ho, which was divided into nine arms, also flowed 
through a wide, open valley. In summer this river 
brings down vast quantities of water, as was easy to 
see from the marks on its banks. 
I will hurry over my journey from Ping-fan to Liang- 
chow-fu ; the road is sufficiently well known, having been 
described by other travellers. On December 9th I said 
“Good-bye” to Mr. Hall, and made him a present of one 
of my horses as an acknowledgment of the trouble he 
had taken on my behalf. Once more I re-organized my 
caravan. I dismissed the mules and their noisy owners, 
and in their place engaged two carts of the same shape 
and appearance as the arbas of East Turkestan. Into one 
I stowed all my baggage ; whilst the other was fitted with 
a covered roof, straw in the bottom, and carpets. Each 
vehicle was drawn by a mule between the shafts and two 
horses harnessed in front of the mule, and the composite 
teams were driven by two pleasant Chinese, whom I made 
to understand thoroughly that, if they got me over the 
ground quickly and without misadventure, I should not 
forget to give them a handsome tip. It was important to 
be on good terms with these two men, as I now had no 
interpreter, but was entirely dependent upon my own not 
very extensive acquaintance with the Chinese language. 
For six days we drove up hill and down dale, over the 
eastern off-shoots of the Nan-shan Mountains, over rugged 
passes, over brooks, some frozen, some still running freely, 
across precarious bridges, and through dark and narrow 
defiles. The carts rattled and shook, rocked and lurched 
— it was veritable torture. The drivers went on foot ; and 
